Developmental activities at the proposed NU-CCNE will include three components: Pilot Projects, Alliance Challenge Projects, and trans-Alliance activities. The current NU-CCNE has provided funding for pilot projects each year since its inception in 2005, and this program has been shown to be of critical importance in encouraging new and innovative ideas that will push the envelope ofthe current research and have potential to significantly enhance and advance research goals. Previously funded pilot projects have laid the groundwork for important new efforts and/or have been incorporated into the existing CCNE research portfolio. The new NU-CCNE will fund in-Center Pilot Projects, and proposes to expand this mechanism to inter-Alliance projects. These proposals will involve other Centers and Platforms across the Alliance network through synergistic projects that have the capacity to rapidly develop and advance technologies to the clinic by sharing the unique resources and strengths of the NU-CCNE. Finally, we will continue to contribute to trans-Alliance activities in order to build the Alliance community and encourage synergism by establishing a Bioinformatics Core to ensure information and data sharing, by participating in and assisting with the bulletins, and CCNE operation manuals.